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UNI pushes past Bradley in MVC quarterfinals

UNI's Ellie Herzberg brings the ball up the court during Friday's MVC Tournament game against Bradley in the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.(Photo: William Connor, William Connor Photography/UNI Athletics)

MOLINE, Ill. — As the fourth quarter commenced, the chant revved back up.

“U-N-I! U-N-I!”

Backed by a dominant second half that turned a first-half nail-biter into a late-game runaway, No. 2 seed Northern Iowa cruised into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals with a 69-39 win over seventh-seeded Bradley in Friday’s quarterfinals at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.

With the victory, the Panthers (23-7) will face Evansville (14-16) Saturday at 4 p.m. The Purple Aces upset Missouri State in Friday's other quarterfinal.

After nabbing the conference’s sixth player of the year award earlier this week, Ellie Herzberg delivered a game-high 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Megan Maahs, an MVC all-freshman selection, added 14 points, and Angie Davison chipped in 11.

“My No. 1 offensive emphasis coming into this game was balance,” said Warren, whose Panthers cruised despite getting just nine points from star guard Madison Weekly. “When you look at what we’ve been able to do in terms of wins throughout the course of the season, we’ve done it with balance.”

The Braves climbed within four as the third-quarter clock crept under six minutes, and that's when UNI cranked up the pressure. Bradley mustered just three field goals the rest of the game, as the Panthers closed the quarter on a 13-2 surge and spilled that momentum into the final quarter.

UNI outscored the Braves, 19-4, over the final 10 minutes.

Herzberg, who missed last season’s MVC tournament with a torn ACL, delivered 12 of her 17 points after the break, helping propel UNI into the semifinals for a third straight season.

“It was a lot of fun,” Herzberg said. “Obviously not getting to play last year, it’s kind of another new experience. It’s been a while, so I just wanted to get out there and enjoy the game and enjoy the opportunity to play in the postseason.

“I would say in the second half, we just knew we had to shoot better than in the first half. So we really focused on that and were able to do so.”

Bradley came out firing, going 12-for-25 from the field to trail by just three points, 32-29, at intermission. But the UNI defense tightened up, and a continual glass advantage — the Panthers held a 44-27 rebounding edge — provided separation.

“It’s awesome,” Davison said. “Every win is a team win, and we need everyone to step up and do their roles. We definitely did that tonight, and that’s the only way we’re going to get through this.”

Dargan Southard covers preps, recruiting, Iowa and UNI athletics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.